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[Gattigap]

In a paticularly grisly takedown in front of LA's famous Mann's Chinese Theater.



WSJ reports that Los Angeles' finest have tired of the rampant trademark infringement found at this streetcorner.

• LAPD Officer Michael Shea has spent nearly 25 years patrolling Hollywood and he says this is the craziest collection of characters he's ever seen. Responding to complaints from tourists, business owners and civic leaders, Mr. Shea about a month ago gathered 68 of the characters in a room (many in costume) and candidly informed the Supermen, Batmen and Darth Vaders about the laws that apply to them, which the LAPD vowed to enforce.
  
  For the city, it's a tricky issue: The sidewalk is a public thoroughfare and there are civil rights to be considered. The city only got involved when "tourists were not experiencing a voluntary contribution or donation, but rather much more of a shakedown and some reports of a few characters just taking money out of people's hands," says Bill Kysella, deputy city attorney in Hollywood.
  
  Though many characters left the meeting excited about their roles as responsible "Hollywood Ambassadors," the aggressive solicitation did not abate. So last week, an undercover operation was launched.
  
  Mr. Harper, the 40-year-old Elmo, says he was set up by the cops. But upon returning to his spot a day after his arrest, he conceded that things are tense these days among the characters, who form cliques and alliances to defend their turf and make money. Mr. Harper, for example, says his Elmo is a foe of Batman and Superman, but in cahoots with Mr. Incredible, SpongeBob SquarePants and at least one of the half-dozen Spider-Men who prowl the street.
  
  Members of Elmo's clique often pose in pictures together and split tips when the dollars are flowing. Because many of the costumes have no pockets, wads of cash are often visibly clenched in characters' hands. But as a Saturday stroll down the boulevard showed, other characters are alone and adrift, often wearing ragged costumes and seeming to horn in on others' turf. One Spider-Man and a Puss 'N Boots character, for example, jumped into other characters' pictures at the last minute, then tried to wrangle some of the tip. Both declined to be interviewed.

It's the regional equivalent of street window washers.